COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Princeton women dominate Hofstra

PRINCETON — The Princeton women take pride in their tough non-conference schedule, but you wouldn’t have known that Wednesday night.

The Tigers had no troubling dispatching that Hofstra Pride 84-54 at Jadwin Gymnasium. The win came just three days after Princeton blew out UMBC 93-46 at home Sunday afternoon.

“There is a lot of trust right now,” coach Courtney Banghart said after the game. “Kids are trusting each other on both ends, trusting our scouting and going out and executing. It was vintage Princeton, going out and playing hard.”

Niveen Rasheed and Kristen Helmstetter were the big scorers for the Tigers, with 23 and 21 points, respectively.

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Helmstetter has been filling in for junior Nicole Hung in the starting lineup since Hung injured her knee against UCLA, but has been making a convincing case for her new role to become permanent. She finished Wednesday with career highs in both points and assists (7).

“It’s definitely a new role,” Helmstetter said. I just have to step into it. So far, it’s been a good start.”

Senior Lauren Polansky finished with one of the more unique stat lines you’ll see from a 5-foot-8 guard. She played just 21 minutes, recording zero points, three steals, and a career-high 11 rebounds.

“Only 10 points shy of a double-double,” she joked after the game.

Hofstra was able to hang around with the Tigers for the first 10 minutes of the game. With 9:56 left in the first half, Anne Payton knocked down a three, pulling the Pride to within two at 15-13.

Over the course of the next seven minutes, however, the Tigers proceeded to score 19 unanswered points. Princeton went into the half up 45-19.

The second half wasn’t quite as smooth. Princeton got a bit careless with the basketball—it turned the ball over 18 times in the game—and Hofstra was able to keep the lead hovering around 30.

“When you come out and play as hard as we did in the first half, it’s hard to sustain that for 40 minutes,” Banghart said. “We’re not going to look at the scoreboard, we’re just going to do what we do.”

That lead, however, was never in any danger.

Much like against against UMBC, the big lead allowed Banghart to get some significant minutes for the back half of her roster. Ten different players—not including Polansky—scored points for the Tigers.

“They practice against (the starters) everyday, so they’re ready,” Banghart said of her bench. “The issue is playing against somebody else, playing in this environment and the speed of the game. I’m glad they’re adjusting and we’re holding them to a high standard.”

About the Author

Former Trentonian sportswriter and utility man. New York Jets, Princeton basketball, Mercer/Bucks county high schools, Trenton Thunder. Tulane grad. Former Times-Picayune and NFL.com intern. Reach the author at nperuffo@trentonian.com
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